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Talk Talk - Communication terms
Category: General technical and industrial
Date & country: 28/05/2010, UK
Words: 18630
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avatarIn Hindu mythology, the descent of a deity to earth in a visible form, for example the ten avatars of Vishnu
avensAny of several low-growing plants found throughout Europe, Asia, and North Africa. (Genus
Geum, family Rosaceae.) Mountain avens (
Dryas octopetala) belongs to a different genus and grows in mountain and arctic areas of Europe, Asia, and North America. A creeping perennial, it has white flowers with yellow s...
avalancheFall or flow of a mass of snow and ice down a steep slope under the force of gravity. Avalanches occur because of the unstable nature of snow masses in mountain areas. Changes of temperature, sudden sound, or earth-borne vibrations may trigger an avalanche, particularly on slopes of more than 35°. The snow compacts into ice as it moves, an...
avocadoTree belonging to the laurel family, native to Central America. Its dark-green, thick-skinned, pear-shaped fruit has buttery-textured flesh and is used in salads. (
Persea americana, family Lauraceae.)
avoirdupoisSystem of units of mass based on the pound (0.45 kg), which consists of 16 ounces (each of 16 drams) or 7,000 grains (each equal to 65 mg)
avocetWading bird, with a characteristic long, narrow, upturned bill, which it uses to sift water as it feeds in the shallows. It is about 45 cm/18 in long, has long legs, partly webbed feet, and black and white plumage. There are four species of avocet, genus
Recurvirostra, family Recurvirostridae, order Charadriiformes. They are ...
Avogadro's hypothesisIn chemistry, the law stating that equal volumes of all gases, when at the same temperature and pressure, have the same numbers of molecules. One mole of any gas contains 6.023 × 10
23 particles and occupies 24 dm
3 at room temperature and pressure. The type of gas does not make any difference. The l...
avant-gardeIn the arts, those artists or works that are in the forefront of new developments in their media. The term was introduced (as was `reactionary`) after the French Revolution, when it was used to describe any socialist political movement
AvalokitesvaraIn Mahayana Buddhism, one of the most important bodhisattvas, seen as embodying compassion. He is an emanation of Amida Buddha. In China, as Kuan Yin, and Japan, as Kannon, he is confused with his female consort, becoming the popular goddess of mercy
Avogadro's numberNumber of carbon atoms in 12 g of the carbon-12 isotope (6.022045 × 10
23). It is named after Italian chemist Amedeo Avogadro. The relative atomic mass of any element, expressed in grams, contains this number of atoms and is called a mole. For example, one mole of any substance contains 6.022 × 10
23<...
Avalon
In Celtic mythology, the island of the blessed or paradise; one of the names of the Welsh Otherworld. In the legend of King Arthur, it is the land of heroes, a fruitful land of youth and health ruled over by Morgan le Fay; Arthur is conveyed here to be healed of his wounds after his final battle with Mordred. It has been identified since th...
Avery, Milton
US painter. His early work was inspired by Matisse, portraying subjects in thin, flat, richly coloured strokes. His later work, although still figurative, shows the influence of Mark Rothko and other experimental US artists
Avedon, Richard
US photographer. A fashion photographer with Harper's Bazaar magazine in New York City from the mid-1940s, he moved to Vogue in 1965. He later became the highest-paid fashion and advertising photographer in the world. He became associated with the New Yorker in 1993. Using large&#...
aviation
Term used to describe the science of powered flight
average
In statistics, a term used inexactly to indicate the typical member of a set of data. It usually refers to the arithmetic mean. The term is also used to refer to the middle member of the set when it is sorted in ascending or descending order (the median), and the most commonly occurring item of data (the mode), as in `the average family`....
AVI
File format capable of storing moving images (such as video) with accompanying sound and which can be replayed by any multimedia PC
AWACS
Acronym for Airborne Warning And Control System, surveillance system that incorporates a long-range surveillance and detection radar mounted on a Boeing E-3 Sentry aircraft. It was used with great success in the 1991 Gulf War
Awash
River that rises to the south of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and flows northeast to Lake Abba on the frontier with Djibouti, ending in a chain of salt lakes; length 800 km/500 mi. Cotton is grown along the river valley and the Koka Dam (1960) supplies hydroelectric power. Although deep inside present-day Ethiopia, the Awash River was consid...
Axum
Variant spelling of Aksum, a kingdom that flourished in the 1st–6th centuries AD
Axis
Alliance of Nazi Germany and fascist Italy before and during World War II. The Rome–Berlin Axis was formed in 1936, when Italy was being threatened with sanctions because of its invasion of Ethiopia (Abyssinia). It became a full military and political alliance in May 1939. A ten-year alliance between Germany, Italy, and Japan (Rome–Be...
axon
Long threadlike extension of a nerve cell that conducts electrochemical impulses away from the cell body towards other nerve cells, or towards an effector organ such as a muscle. Axons terminate in synapses, junctions with other nerve cells, muscles, or glands
axil
Upper angle between a leaf (or bract) and the stem from which it grows. Organs developing in the axil, such as shoots and buds, are termed axillary, or lateral
axolotl
Aquatic larval form (`tadpole`) of the Mexican salamander Ambystoma mexicanum, belonging to the family Ambystomatidae. Axolotls may be up to 30 cm/12 in long. They are remarkable because they can breed without changing to the adult form, and will metamorphose into adu...
axiom
In mathematics, a statement that is assumed to be true and upon which theorems are proved by using logical deduction; for example, two straight lines cannot enclose a space. The Greek mathematician Euclid used a series of axioms that he considered could not be demonstrated in terms of simpler concepts to prove his geometrical theorems
axis
In geometry, one of the reference lines by which a point on a graph may be located. The horizontal axis is usually referred to as the x-axis, and the vertical axis as the y-axis. The term is also used to refer to the imaginary line about which an object may be said to be symmetrical (axis of symmetry) &...
Axelrod, Julius
US neuropharmacologist who was awarded a Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1970 for his work with the biophysicists Bernard Katz and Ulf von Euler, on neurotransmitters (the chemical messengers of the brain). Axelrod set out to discover why the messengers, once transmitted, should stop operating. Through his studies he found a number of spe...
axonometric projection
Three-dimensional drawing of an object, such as a building, in which the floor plan provides the basis for the visible elevations, thus creating a diagram that is true to scale but incorrect in terms of perspective. Vertical lines are projected up from the plan at the same scale; the usual angle of projection is 45°. An isometric proje...
Ayr
Administrative headquarters of South Ayrshire, southwest Scotland, at the mouth of the River Ayr; population (2001) 46,400. Ayr has strong associations with the Scottish poet Robert Burns. Industries include fishing, electronics, and aircraft parts. Burns National Heritage Park, situated in Alloway, 4 km/2.5 mi south of the town centre, inc...
Ayesha
Third and favourite wife of the prophet Muhammad, who married her when she was nine. Her father, Abu Bakr, became caliph on Muhammad's death in 632. She bitterly opposed the later succession to the caliphate of Ali, who had once accused her of infidelity
Aymara
The American Indian people of Bolivia and Peru, builders of a great culture, who were conquered first by the Incas and then by the Spaniards. Today 1.4 million Aymara farm and herd llamas and alpacas in the highlands; their language, belonging to the Andean-Equatorial language family, survives, and their Roman Catholicism incorporates eleme...
Ayers Rock
Vast ovate mass of pinkish sandstone rock in Northern Territory, Australia; 335 m/1,110 ft high and 9 km/6 mi around. It lies within the Ayers Rock–Mount Olga National Park and is famed for its stark rise from the surrounding land and for the striking orange-red colour which it assumes at sunset. For the Aboriginals, who have o...
Ayer, A(lfred) J(ules)
English philosopher. He wrote Language, Truth and Logic (1936), an exposition of the theory of `logical positivism`, presenting a criterion by which meaningful statements (essentially truths of logic, as well as statements derived from experience) could be distinguished from meaningless metaphysical utterances (for exam...
ayatollah
Honorific title awarded to Shiite Muslims in Iran by popular consent, as, for example, to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (1900–1989)
aye-aye
Nocturnal tree-climbing prosimian Daubentonia madagascariensis of Madagascar, related to the lemurs. It is just over 1 m/3 ft long, including a tail 50 cm/20 in long. It has an exceptionally long middle finger with which it probes for insects and their larvae under the ...
azalea
Any of a group of deciduous flowering shrubs belonging to the heath family. Several species are native to Asia and North America, and many cultivated varieties have been derived from these. Azaleas are closely related to the mostly evergreen rhododendrons. (Genus Rhododendron, fami...
Aztec
Member of an American Indian people who migrated south into the valley of Mexico in about 1168. They belonged to the Nahuatl, a Mesoamerican people who remain the largest ethnic group in Mexico today; their language was from the Uto-Aztecan family. The Aztec developed a highly structured civi...
Azov, Sea of
Inland sea between Ukraine and Russia, forming a gulf in the northeast of the Black Sea, to which it is connected by the narrow Kerch Strait. It has an area of 37,555 sq km/14,500 sq mi, and is extremely shallow, with an average depth of only 8 m/26 ft, and nowhere exceeding 16 m/52 ft. The sea is frozen for four to six months every yea...
Azores
Group of nine islands in the North Atlantic, forming an autonomous region belonging to Portugal; area 2,247 sq km/867 sq mi; population (2003 est) 243,200. The islands are outlying peaks of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and are volcanic in origin. Products include sugar cane, coffee, tobacco, fruit, and wine. There are many hot springs, an...
Azilian
Archaeological period following the close of the Old Stone (Palaeolithic) Age and regarded as the earliest culture of the Mesolithic Age in Western Europe. It was first recognized at Le Mas d'Azil, a cave in Ariège, France
Azerbaijan, Iranian
Two provinces of northwest Iran: Eastern Azerbaijan (population (1996 est) 3,325,500, capital Tabriz); and Western Azerbaijan (population (1996 est) 2,496,300, capital Orumiyeh). Azerbaijanis in Iran, as in the Republic of Azerbaijan, are mainly Shiite Muslim ethnic Turks, descendants of followers of the Khans from the Mongol Empire. There ...
azimuth
In astronomy, angular distance of an object eastwards along the horizon, measured from due north, between the astronomical meridian (the vertical circle passing through the centre of the sky and the north and south points on the horizon) and the vertical circle containing the celestial body whose position is to be measured
azo dye
Synthetic dye containing the azo group of two nitrogen atoms (NN) connecting aromatic ring compounds. Azo dyes are usually red, brown, or yellow, and make up about half the dyes produced. They are manufactured from aromatic amines
Azeri
Native of the Azerbaijan region of Iran (population 5,500,000) or of the Republic of Azerbaijan (formerly a Soviet republic) (population 7,145,600). Azeri is a Turkic language belonging to the Altaic family. Of the total population of Azeris, 70% are Shiite Muslims and 30% Sunni Muslims
Azerbaijan
Country in western Asia, bounded south by Iran, east by the Caspian Sea, west by Armenia and Georgia, and north by Russia. Government Under its 1995 constitution, Azerbaijan is a presidential republic, with an authoritarian political system. There is a single-member legislature, the National Assembly (Milli Majlis), with 125 members elected in ...
AZT
Drug used in the treatment of AIDS; see zidovudine
Aztec art
Art of the Aztecs, an American Indian people who moved south into the valley of Mexico in the AD 1100s, building their capital Tenochtitlán (now Mexico City) from 1325. In the 15th century they created a short-lived empire that was destroyed soon after the Spanish invasion of 1519. The Aztec way of life was dominated by a harsh religion th...
Bayeux
Town in the département of Calvados, northern France, on the River Aure, 27 km/17 mi northwest of Caen; population (1999) 20,700. The town has an agricultural market, and industries include the production of pottery, lace, and processed foods. Its museum houses the 11t...
Bax, Arnold Edward Trevor
English composer. His works, often based on Celtic legends, include seven symphonies, The Garden of Fand (1913–16), and Tintagel (1917–19) (both tone poems). He was Master of the King's Musick 1942–53
Bayeux Tapestry
Linen hanging made about 1067–70 that gives a vivid pictorial record of the invasion of England by William I (the Conqueror) in 1066. It is an embroidery rather than a true tapestry, sewn with woollen threads in eight visibly different colours. The hanging is 70 m/231 ft long and 50 cm/2...
Bavaria
Click images to enlargeAdministrative region (German Land) in southeast Germany, bordered to the west by Hesse and Baden-Württemberg, to the north by Thuringia and Saxony, to the northeast by the Czech Republic, and to the south and southeast by Austria; area 70,549 sq km/27,239 sq mi&#...
Baum, L(yman) Frank
US writer. He was the author of the children's fantasy The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) and its 13 sequels. The series was continued by another author after his death. The film The Wizard of Oz (1939) with Judy Garland became a US classic
Baudouin
King of the Belgians 1951–93. In 1950 his father, Leopold III, abdicated and Baudouin was known until his succession in 1951 as Le Prince Royal. During his reign he succeeded in holding together a country divided by religion and language, while presiding over the dismemberment of Belgium's imperial past. In 1960 he marri...
Batumi
Black Sea port and capital of the autonomous republic of Adjaria, in southwestern Georgia; population (2001 est) 143,800. Key industries include oil refining and transhipment, shipbuilding, food canning, engineering, and the manufacture of clothing and pharmaceuticals. Batumi receives its crude oil via a pipeline running from the oilfields at B...
Batten, Jean
New Zealand aviator who made the first return solo flight by a woman Australia–Britain in 1935, and established speed records
Baton Rouge
Deep-water port in East Baton Rouge Parish on the Mississippi River, the capital of Louisiana; population (2000 est) 227,800. Industries include oil refining, petrochemicals, and iron; the port is the fourth largest in the country. Baton Rouge was incorporated in 1817 and became the state capital in 1849. History The first Europeans to ...
Batista
(y Zaldívar) Cuban right-wing dictator, dictator-president 1934–44 and 1952–59. Having led the September 1933 coup to install Ramón Grau San Martín in power, he forced Grau's resignation in 1934 to...
batik
Javanese technique used to dye fabrics. Areas of material are sealed with wax, which resists dye. Designs are applied using hot liquid wax and a tjanting or brush, and then the fabric is dipped in dye. This process can be repeated several times with successive areas of wax being added, and the dye of the lightest colour being used first. After the ...
Bath
Click images to enlargeHistoric city and administrative headquarters of Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority, southwest England, 171 km/106 mi west of London; population (2001) 90,200. Industries include printing, plastics, engineering, and tourism. Bath was the site of the Roman town of Aquae Sulis, and...
Bates, H(enry) W(alter)
English naturalist and explorer. He spent 11 years collecting animals and plants in South America and identified 8,000 new species of insects. He made a special study of camouflage in animals, and his observation of insect imitation of species that are unpleasant to predators is known as `Batesian mimicry`
Bataan
Peninsula in Luzon, the Philippines, which was defended against the Japanese in World War II by US and Filipino troops under Gen MacArthur from 1 January to 9 April 1942. MacArthur was evacuated, but some 67,000 Allied prisoners died on the Bataan Death March to camps in the interior
Bastille
Castle of St Antoine, built about 1370 as part of the fortifications of Paris. It was made a state prison by Cardinal Richelieu and was stormed by the mob that set the French Revolution in motion on 14 July 1789. Only seven prisoners were found in the castle when it was stormed; the governor and ...
Bastia
Port and commercial centre on the northeast coast of Corsica, France, administrative centre of the département of Haute-Corse, 96 km/60 mi northeast of Ajaccio; population (1990) 52,390. Industries include the manufacture of processed foods. Founded in 1380 by the Genoese, who built a fortress to protect it, Bast...
Bass Strait
Sea channel separating the mainland of Australia from Tasmania. The strait is 322 km/200 mi long, with an average width of 255 km/158 mi. Oil was discovered here in 1965 and first extracted in 1969. The region now has 18 oil and gas fields
Basseterre
(St Kitts and Nevis) Capital and port of St Kitts and Nevis, in the Leeward Islands; population (2001) 13,200. Industries include data processing, rum, clothes, and electrical components; chief exports are sugar, salt, cotton, and copra
Basilicata
Mountainous region of southern Italy, forming the instep of the Italian `boot`. Bordering on the Tyrrhenian Sea in the southwest and the Gulf of Taranto in the southeast, it comprises the provinces of Potenza and Matera; area 9,992 sq km/3,858 sq mi; population (2001 est) 595,700. The capital is Potenza. History The region was...
Bashkortostan
(republic) Autonomous republic of the Russian Federation; area 143,600 sq km/55,444 sq mi; population (1990) 3,964,000 (40% Russian, 30% Tatar, 25% Bashkir). The capital is Ufa. The Ural Mountains are in the east and River Kama in the northwest; other rivers are Bel...
Basel
(city) Commercial and industrial city, capital of Basel-Stadt demi-canton, Switzerland, situated on the Rhine at the point where the French, German, and Swiss borders meet; population (2003 est) 162,800, urban agglomeration 553,800. Manufactured goods include machinery, dyes, silk ...
baseball
Click images to enlargeNational summer game of the USA, derived in the 19th century from the English game of rounders. Baseball is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams, each of nine players, on a pitch (`field`) marked out in the form of a diamond, with a base at each corner. The ball is struck w...
Barton, Edmund
Australian politician. He was leader of the Federation Movement from 1896 and first prime minister of Australia 1901–03. Educated at Sidney University, he worked as a barrister before entering the New South Wales assembly in 1879. As prime minister and foreign minister 1901–03 he secured passage of the `white Australia` Immigrat...
Bartholomew, St
In the New Testament, one of the apostles. Some legends relate that after the Crucifixion he took Christianity to India; others that he was a missionary in Anatolia and Armenia, where he suffered martyrdom by being flayed alive. Feast day 24 August
Barry, comtesse du
Mistress of Louis XV of France; see du Barry
Barth, Karl
Swiss Protestant theologian. A socialist in his political views, he attacked the Nazis. His Church Dogmatics (1932–62) makes the resurrection of Jesus the focal point of Christianity
Barry, Charles
English architect. He designed the neo-Gothic new Palace of Westminster, London (the Houses of Parliament; 1840–60), in collaboration with A W N Pugin. His early designs for the Travellers Club (1829–32) and for the Reform Club (1837), both in London, were in Renaissance style
barrow
Burial mound, usually composed of earth but sometimes of stones. Examples are found in many parts of the world. The two main types are long, dating from the Neolithic period (New Stone Age), and round, dating from the Mesolithic period (early Bronze Age). Barrows made entirely of stones are known as cairns. Long barrow Long barrows may be mere moun...
barrister
In the UK, a lawyer qualified by study at the Inns of Court to plead for a client in court. In Scotland such lawyers are called advocates. Barristers also undertake the writing of opinions on the prospects of a case before trial. They act for clients through the intermediary of solicitors. In the USA an attorney may serve the functions of barrister...
Barrie, J(ames) M(atthew)
Scottish dramatist and novelist. His work includes The Admirable Crichton (1902) and the children's fantasy Peter Pan (1904)
barrel organ
Portable pipe organ, played by turning a handle, or occasionally by a clockwork mechanism. The handle works a pump and drives a replaceable cylinder upon which music is embossed as a pattern of ridges controlling the passage of air to the pipes. It is often confused with the barrel or street piano used by buskers, which employed a barrel-and...
Barranquilla
Major port and capital of Atlántico department on the Caribbean coast of northern Colombia, on the western bank of the Magdalena River 16 km/10 mi upstream; population (2005) 359,400; metropolitan area 1,694,700. Industries include chemicals, tobacco, food-processing, textiles, furniture, and footwear. Coffee, coal, oil and nic...
Barra
Southern island of the larger Outer Hebrides, Scotland, part of the Western Isles unitary council area; area 90 sq km/35 sq mi; population (2001) 1,100. It is separated from South Uist by the Sound of Barra. The principal town is Castlebay. The main industries are fishing and tourism. Archaeological sites of interest on Barra include Al...
baroque
In the visual arts, architecture, and music, a style characterized by expressive, flamboyant, and dynamic design. It flourished in Europe between 1600 and 1750, particularly in Catholic countries, where it played a central role in the crusading work of the Catholic Counter-Reformation. To inspire its viewers, the style used elaborate effects to...
baronet
British order of chivalry below the rank of baron, but above that of knight, created in 1611 by James I to finance the settlement of Ulster. It is a hereditary honour, although women cannot succeed to a baronetcy. A baronet does not have a seat in the House of Lords but is entitled to the style Sir before his name. The sale of ba...
barometer
Instrument that measures atmospheric pressure as an indication of weather. Most often used are the mercury barometer and the aneroid barometer. In a mercury barometer a column of mercury in a glass tube, roughly 0.75 m/2.5 ft high (closed at one end, curved upwards at the other), is balanced by t...
Barnum, P(hineas) T(aylor)
US showman. In 1871 he established the `Greatest Show on Earth`, which included the midget `Tom Thumb`, a circus, a menagerie, and an exhibition of `freaks`, conveyed in 100 railway carriages. In 1881, it merged with its chief competitor and has continued to this day as the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circu...
Barnsley
Town and administrative headquarters of Barnsley metropolitan borough, South Yorkshire, England, on the River Dearne, 26 km/16 mi north of Sheffield; population (2001) Barnsley 71,600; Dearne Valley urban area 218,100. It lies on one of Britain's richest coal fields, although the industry is in decline. Manufactured products include...
Barnardo, Thomas John
British philanthropist. He was known as Dr Barnardo, although he was not medically qualified. He opened the first of a series of homes for destitute children in 1867 in Stepney, East London
Barnet
Outer London borough of northwest Greater London, including the district of Hendon Population (2001) 314,600 Industries Barnet has the highest level of self-employment in Greater London, and a low rate of unemployment. The main economic sectors are the retail and service sectors. Industries in Barnet include the UK headquarters of multinational...
Barking and Dagenham
Outer London borough of east Greater London, England, Population (2001) 164,000 Industries cars; paint; telephone cables; pharmaceuticals History There is evidence of Bronze Age and Iron Age settlement in the area. From the 14th to the 19th century, fishing was the most important industry in the Barking area, supplying local as well as ...
Bari
(town) Capital of Bari province and Apulia region, southern Italy, and a major commercial and industrial centre and ferry port on the Adriatic Sea; population (2001 est) 312,500. It is the site of Italy's first nuclear power station. Part of the town is known as Tecnopolis, the Italian...
Barenboim, Daniel
Argentinian-born Israeli pianist and conductor. Pianist and conductor with the English Chamber Orchestra from 1964, he became conductor of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in 1970, musical director of the Orchestre de Paris in 1975, director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1991, musical director of the Berlin State Opera in 1992, and pr...
Bardeen, John
US physicist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1956, with Walter Brattain and William Shockley, for the development of the transistor in 1948 and he became the first double winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1972 (with Leon Cooper and Robert Schrieffer) for his work on superconductivity
Barbour, John
Scottish poet. His epic 13,000-line poem The Brus (written 1374–75, printed 1571) chronicles the war of Scottish independence and includes a vivid account of Robert Bruce's victory over the English at Bannockburn in 1314. It is among the earliest known works of Scottish poetry
Barbizon School
French school of landscape painters of the mid-19th century, based at Barbizon in the forest of Fontainebleau. They aimed to paint fresh, realistic scenes, sketching and painting their subjects in the open air. Members included Jean François Millet, Théodore Rousseau, and Charles Daubigny. Friendship and poverty brought the Barbizon p...
Barbirolli, John
(Giovanni Battista) English conductor. He excelled in the Romantic repertory, especially the symphonies of Elgar, Sibelius, Mahler, and Vaughan Williams. Trained as a cellist, he succeeded Arturo Toscanini as conductor of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra from 1937 to 1943 and was conductor ...
barbiturate
Hypnosedative drug, commonly known as a `sleeping pill`, consisting of any salt or ester of barbituric acid C4H4O3N2. It works by depressing brain activity. Most barbiturates, being highly addictive, are no longer prescribed and are listed as contr...
barbershop
In music, a style of unaccompanied close-harmony singing of sentimental ballads, revived in the USA during the 19th century. Traditionally sung by four male voices, since the 1970s it has developed as a style of a cappella choral singing for both male and female voices. Barbershop originated in 17th-century European barbers' shops, whic...
Bantustan
Name until 1978 for a Black National State in the Republic of South Africa
Barabbas
In the New Testament, a condemned robber released by Pilate at Pesach (Passover) instead of Jesus to appease a mob
Banting, Frederick Grant
Canadian physician who was awarded a Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1923 for his discovery, in 1921, of a technique for isolating the hormone insulin. Banting and his colleague Charles Best tied off the ducts of the pancreas to determine the function of the cells known as the islets of Langerhans and thus made possible the treatment of d...
Bankhead, Tallulah
US actor. She was renowned for her wit and flamboyant lifestyle. Her stage appearances include Dark Victory (1934), Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes (1939), and Thornton Wilder's The Skin of Our Teeth (1942). Her films include Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat (1943...
bankruptcy
Process by which the property of an individual or organization unable to pay debts is taken away under a court order and divided fairly among the person's creditors, after preferential payments such as taxes and wages. Proceedings may be instituted either by the debtor (voluntary bankruptcy) or by any creditor for a substantial sum (involuntary...
